Contact: Jay Sorensen For inquiries: 414-961-1939 Jay @ IdeaWorksCompany.com

Airlines Can Best Boost Ancillary Revenue Through Empathy, Competence, and Kindness

Greed is not a healthy philosophy; airlines need better foundations for business success.

February 2, 2015, Shorewood, Wisconsin – Michael O’Leary, the CEO of Ryanair, recently admitted “If I had known being nicer to our customers was going to work so well, I would have done it years ago.” As notable as O’Leary’s epiphany is to the airline industry, it’s worth pointing out that the proven value of empathy, competency, and kindness precedes his recent directives to be nice to customers. The latest report from IdeaWorksCompany explores how airline management teams can work together for the greater good of their customers, employees, and investors. Call it a back-to-basics mantra, but sometimes in a technology riddled world, we all can benefit from a few therapeutic reminders to reset our moral compasses. By using the inherently human qualities of empathy, competence, and kindness, the report offers advice to airline management teams to boost ancillary revenue:

Understand the perspective of other departments before adding a la carte services.

Front line employees provide a vital source of intelligence; talk to them before adding anything.

Empathy is a crucial tool of diplomacy, and ancillary revenue leadership requires diplomatic skills.

Enlightened airlines should have employees book and buy tickets like their clients.

Competence has a natural enemy, and that’s complexity; improve existing a la carte items.

Don’t invite regulators to become involved in your business by failing to fix systemic problems.

Untangle consumer confusion by dedicating corporate resources to simplifying self-service.

“Boost Ancillary Revenue Through Empathy, Competence, and Kindness” was released today as a free 16-page report available at the IdeaWorksCompany website: www.IdeaWorksCompany.com. The 2015 Ancillary Revenue Report series is sponsored by CarTrawler. CarTrawler provides aviation, travel, hospitality, leisure and consumer brands with a direct connection to over 1,300 leading and independent car rental agents, shuttle bus companies, limousine and chauffeur driven services in over 30,000 airport and city locations across different 174 countries in the language and currency of their choice. For more information, visit www.cartrawler.com. About IdeaWorksCompany: IdeaWorksCompany was founded in 1996 as a consulting organization building brands through innovation in product, partnership and marketing, and building profits through financial improvement and restructuring. Its international client list includes airlines and other travel industry firms in Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and the Americas. IdeaWorksCompany specializes in ancillary revenue improvement, brand development, customer research, competitive analysis, frequent flier programs, and on-site executive workshops. Learn more at IdeaWorksCompany.com.

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